Pallet Enterprise 25th Anniversary Commemorative Disc25th Anniversary Commemorative Disc: Learn about the last 25 years from this special commemorative disc.

By Chaille Brindley Date Posted: 12/1/2006

The staff of the Pallet Enterprise has been compiling the best moments, personalities and stories of the last 25 years in the pallet industry. These have forever been memorialized in a special 25th Anniversary Interactive Computer Presentation. This is part of the Pallet Enterprise’s 25th Anniversary Celebration.

The first 25 years are full of memorable moments, unforgettable people and plenty of change. Combing through past issues has been quite an experience for the editorial staff of the Pallet Enterprise.

Here is your chance to own a piece of the industry’s history. Of course, you will want to see if you or others in the industry that you know have made the cut.

Made available on a DVD, each disc includes pictures, written commentary from editors, articles, a slide show and a historical timeline. The DVD does not include audio or video presentations.

The 25th Anniversary disc makes a great educational piece for those in your company or even customers. You can order advance copies at a special discounted price. The discs should be available by January 2007.

If you want to understand where the industry is going, it is helpful to know its history. There is not a better resource available today to get a full understanding of the last 25 years.

Having grown up around the industry, it is interesting to see how people have aged. Some companies have come. Others have gone.

Trends have forever impacted the landscape of the industry. For example, recycling was first covered in the Pallet Enterprise in the July/August 1984 issue. Pallet City, Inc. located in Chicago was the main feature story. Ed Pawlak, the founder of Pallet City, talked about the money to be made in recycling pallets.

CHEP first garnered attention from the Pallet Enterprise in its November/December 1984 issue. The article focused on CHEP’s rental program in Canada. It would be several years before CHEP would finally enter the U.S. market.

The early years of the Pallet Enterprise featured many pioneers who have long since left the industry such as Marv Chell, the former president of Viking Engineering and Development, Inc. Then there are faces that can still be found today at industry events.

In some cases the second generation is still around impacting the industry – people like Ray Piland of Atlas Pallets, Sandy Campbell of GBN, or Andy Middleton of Econotool.

JoAnne Scott of Scott Pallet has been one of the few female leaders in the pallet industry. Back in 1982, she stated that “the industry is cutting its own throat by encouraging spec deterioration.” Given the growth of pallet pooling and wood alternatives, her warnings have proven true.

A number of the companies featured in the Enterprise have become industry giants through the years. Edwards Wood Products, Arrington Forest Products, Commercial Lumber & Pallet, Potomac Supply Corp., Treen Box, Battle Lumberand John Rock come to mind.

See the unusual through the years too. For example, the DVD features the largestpallet in the world. Bunkie Wood Products made a pallet that measured 16 feet by16 feet. It sold for $806 in 1987.

Some industry leaders took big risks trying to position themselves for the future. David Libla is one of those guys. He has done just about everything in the pallet business from starting his own pool to launching a nail business to developing high speed pallet assembly machinery. Libla was an early pioneer in the pallet rental business. First National Pallet Rental was the right idea. It just needed deeper pockets to compete against CHEP.

The special DVD includes many industry leaders and those who changed the landscape of the pallet industry. Some of the people on the DVD include: Bill Sardo, Jack Thornton, Mike Gilles, Andrew Patterson, Dr. Ed Brindley, John Healy, Gordon Hughes, Tom Waechter, Don Colson, Dr. Walt Wallin, Dr. Mark White, Jeff Otto, Earl Pennington, Bernie Kamps, Doug Moore, Sam McAdow, Ricky Mock, Steve Sykes, Howe Wallace, Clarence Leising, and many more. The DVD will sell for $29.95 plus $5 shipping & handling. Extra copies in the same order can be purchased for $12.95 plus a bulk shipping charge based on quantity.

To purchase advance copies, fill out the form below, order online at http://www.palletenterprise.com/bookorder/iri_books.asp or call 800/805-0263.

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